Honesty is the Policy Right?
by Frenzied Flame
Summary: Axel, Roxas, and Hayner are friends. But when Axel makes one tiny mistake, Hayner finds out something that changes everything. AkuRoku
1. Roxas' Journal

_A/N: I'm trying something new here, guys. Trying to work in just a tad of a real life situation, because I figure I'll get things updated much quicker. I know I keep jumping from story to story, but I haven't forgotten about Evanescing Embers (although I may have to change some things so I have some clue as to what I'm talking about) or THLHTCE (Wow, thats a lot of letters, but luckily, the next chapter for that is coming up pretty soon!). So onto stuff about this particular story!!_

_This story is loosely based on a real life situation I was once in, so it's really close to me and I hope that shows through my work. It will start off a little happy, carefree and 'perfect', but don't worry, there will be a twist (... just not right now) So, just read it I guess, and tell me what you think!_

**Disclaimer: As I laid in my bed, gazing up at the stars, I couldn't help but wonder: Why don't I own Kingdom Hearts? And... where the hell is my roof?!**

**--ooOOoo-- **

September 2, 2008

I can't help feeling like there's something different about Axel. I've known the guy for 3 years and i still have no idea if his freakishly long crimson hair is natural, or what the hell possessed him to get those two tattoos in the middle of his face. His _face_! Maybe he's insane, or something. He's always talking about something so stupid or fucking crazy, and it's stuff like that that makes it hard for me to believe he's one of my best friends.

Then there's Hayner. Hot-headed, angry, Hayner. I've known him for four years now. ...I think I labeled him wrong -- he's not always angry per say, just... _irritable_. Any wrong move could send him over the top. If you knock his pencil off of his desk by accident, he's pummeling your face in. Well... I guess that sort of does count as angry. He's my other best friend-- the _normal_ one.

Hayner doesn't like Axel; Axel doesn't like Hayner. That's the way it's been since day one. Hayner thinks Axel wants to steal his best friend, and Axel thinks Hayner is way too selfish with me. When they first met, you could practically see the insults flying through the air -- scratch that-- they were tangible. I had to draw the line somewhere, so I made the rule that they had to get along, or i would ignore them both.

So, this is where we are now. The three of us, getting along (for the most part), and doing everything together.

This summer has been great; we've been hanging out around town, eating sea-salt ice cream, swimming at the local pool, and Axel even came with me and my family on a trip to Hollow Bastion (something that Hayner was none too happy about). My mom made me take some dumb CPR course a couple weeks back though; it was pure hell. The people there were boring, and the teacher -- Mr. Highwind, was it? -- was anything but nice. That class was a complete waste of my life, although I did save Axel's life when he started choking on that strawberry...

School starts in a week. I'm scared, but at least the hardest part of high school has gone: freshman year. It was horrible; the sophomores had nothing better to do then torture us innocent new kids, and it seemed like I was their favorite subject. I spent half of the year headfirst in a garbage can.

Last year sucked.

It's gonna be different though, this year. Hayner, Axel and I are going to have the best year ever.

Crap. Sora's coming. If he sees me writing in this journal it'll be all over town by morning.

**--ooOOoo--**

_Well... -scared face- I figured I did pretty well with this one. I thought that having Roxas randomly write in a journal was a good way to introduce the story. Do you agree? Yes? No? Maybe so? Could be, possibly, omg? (sorry, chem teacher quote!) So, uh, I guess that's it for now._

_Read and Review, please!_


	2. Ninja Turtles?

**Disclaimer: -searches under bed, in closet, in pockets, in bathtub- Nope! Can't find it! Looks to me like I really **_**don't**_** own the rights to Kingdom Hearts! Who would've known? **

**--ooOOoo--**

"First day of sophomore year, Rox! Are you excited?"

Roxas glanced up at Axel, who was grinning from over the seat directly in front of Roxas'. The rest of the bus was silent; none of the upperclassman had boarded the bus yet. The only occupants of the bus were Roxas, Axel, and a couple of timid freshman. Roxas looked out the window for a while, before turning back to Axel. "It should be promising."

Axel cocked an eyebrow and stared at the other for a couple of seconds before shrugging and turning around into his seat. He called back over his seat, "Roxas, learn to lighten up! You're a sophomore now! Great things are bound to happen!"

Roxas sent an doubtful look towards the seat ahead of him, then stuck his headphones into his ears, turned on his iKey, and drifted off.

--**ooOOoo**--

_"Rox... are you sure?"_

_Axel wore a worried expression, but nothing else. He was completely naked, and as Roxas looked down, he noticed that he was as well._

_"Axel, you know how long I've wanted this." Roxas panicked; what the hell was he saying? "As long as I'm yours, you don't need to ask. I'm ready for anything."_

_Roxas' mind was working overtime as he watched as Axel seemed to glide over the floor to approach him._

_He couldn't fight it; he couldn't do _anything_. His limbs wrapped themselves around the lithe body above him, and he shivered involuntarily as he felt Axel's breath on his lips._

_"Everything's gonna be fine, Rox"_

_Then Axel leaned in, and his soft lips covered Roxas'._

--**ooOOoo**--

"AH!" Roxas jerked up in his seat. "Axel, what the hell?"

Axel stared, bewildered, at the blond. He didn't understand what was going on; he had only just turned around to tell Roxas that they had arrived at the school. He watched as Roxas sat in his seat, panting, looking as if he had just seen a ghost.

"What the -- I'm fine. Uh, just ignore me, I'm a little out of it today. Sorry." Roxas quickly gathered his bag filled with his brand new supplies and hurried off of the bus. Sprinting like his life depended on it, Roxas dashed into the school, ignoring Axel's confused calls.

--**ooOOoo**--

Hayner snatched his gaze up to the boy beside him. "Roxas? What the hell is going on?" He took in the blonds haphazard appearance, he was out of breath, rosy in the face, and his hair was even messier than usual. "Mind telling me why the hell you're rushing? It's just school, Rox, calm down."

In a few moments, Roxas had steadied his breathing. "No- nothing's wrong Hayner. Just a little over excited I guess." He released a weak, ridiculously fake laugh.

Axel had been standing a couple of feet away, immersed in the crowd of wild teenagers, and he watched the scene in front of him. Hayner had been in his locker, which is right in between Roxas' and his own, and they were all located on the second floor. Sure, Axel may have needed to put some of his books in his locker, but he didn't want to freak Roxas out anymore. Axel stood there, pondering what the hell he could have done to make Roxas act this way; he couldn't think of a thing. After fighting within himself for a few more seconds, Axel decided to just go over to his locker and put his books away; there was no way he was even thinking about walking around this school looking like a little lost freshman with all of his books.

"Hey Rox. Hayner"

Hayner briefly looked up and nodded at Axel, and went back to rummaging through his bag. Roxas looked liked he had calmed down some, but Axel knew that there was something bothering his friend; he could see it in his eyes. "So, Rox, I never did ask you. How's your schedule"

Roxas searched through his locker -- already a mess due to his "dump now, organize later" technique -- and took out his schedule, which surprisingly, was still in one piece. "Uh... Chemistry, Geometry, Band, Gym, Lunch, Spanish II, English, and American History. What about you guys?"

Axel and Hayner both looked over their schedules. While one turned up disappointed, the other was ecstatic.

"Oh Roxie! We have all the same classes!"

"What the _hell_? I have no classes with you! At all! And... Spanish I! I'm in a class with freshman?" Hayner let out a long groan. "Doesn't this just tick you off?"

Roxas nodded slowly. He didn't like to speak when Hayner got upset, he never knew what to say. He turned and looked at Axel, who had an unreadable expression on as he stared at Hayner. The warning bell rang. Four minutes to get to class. "Uh... well, I guess we can still hang out after school, right Hay?" He paused, expecting some sort of response, but all he got was a continuous mopey expression. "Well, erm... what class do you have first? Maybe it's in the same direction, and we can all walk together."

Hayner shook his head, scowl firm in place. "I've got art. First floor. Chemistry is on the third."

Hayner turned around and walked away. Axel and Roxas watched him for a few more seconds until he disappeared into the crowd.

Axel turned to face Roxas. "Well Rox, we better get going before we're late. I heard Gomez is really tough, especially on the first day."

Gomez... Gomez... who the hell was that? Roxas had no idea, and it seems Axel saw the questioning look upon his face.

"Roxas. Our chem teacher. Mrs. Gomez." He watched as Roxas still wore the same dumb expression."The one with the fucking ninja turtles on her desk, dammit!"

He watched amusedly as Axel huffed, trying to catch his breath after yelling so loud. "Axel. I figured it out when you said 'teacher'. I just wanted to see how far you were going to explaining that." Roxas smirked, then walked off, and vanished up the steps, leaving Axel alone to face the crowd of seniors staring at the tall redhead who just screamed about ninja turtles.

He stared dumbly at them for a few moments before he heard the bell ring. "Fuck! She's gonna kill me!"

--**ooOOoo**--

_Thoughts? Ideas? Anything? Uhm... I don't really have anything to say... OOH! Mrs. Gomez was my chemistry teacher last year, and she really does have ninja turtles in her room! She has the original action figures, all four, and every year, someone who has already passed her class "kidnaps" them. It's so fun, because they leave ransom notes and stuff. She's also the one who says "Yes? No? Maybe so? Could be, possibly, oh my God?". She is also the biggest bitch on the first day of school, but by the end of the year, I loved her. Uh... yeah, thats it._

_Read and Review, please!_


	3. Just Green

**A/N: Huh. So it would seem I've been doing a really bad job updating this. I hadn't realized it had been so long.... I'll blame it on physics. Those damn vectors are annoying.**

**So anyway, I went to write this chapter, and realized I had no idea how I wrote the last two! I couldn't remember whose point of view it was in, I couldn't remember the style of writing I used, nothing! So after trying and failing to remember on my own, I stopped being lazy and read the last chapter. Turns out, it was mainly focusing on Roxas! What are the odds?**

**... I also seem to have this thing where I _must_**** start a chapter with dialogue. Hmm...**

**Disclaimer: So... it would seem that ranting nonstop about Kingdom Hearts is **_**not**_** the way to gain ownership. Huh, who could've known?**

**--ooOOoo--**

"Axel! Can you believe how stupid these people are?"

Roxas was sitting across from Axel-- the usual 'bus formation', according to Axel-- trying really damn hard to ignore the idiots on his bus. "What the _hell_ are they even talking about?"

Axel turned from the window a grinned at his friends behavior. This was pretty much a daily occurrence. Axel is the first on the bus, Roxas almost misses it. Axel smiles as he sees Roxas board the bus, Roxas scowls and shoves his middle finger in the drivers face. Axel listens to his iKey, Roxas throws pennies until he gets attention. Once Axel turns off said iKey, Roxas yells about the idiots on the bus. Eventually, they both end up listening to _Roxas's_ iKey, shouting out random creepy and/or perverted songs, while the idiots stare. Roxas threatens to manly strut on Axel's ass, and gets off the bus. The daily routine.

Pleasant, isn't it?

Axel didn't care how weird and dysfunctional their routine was. He didn't care that people stared at him, or that they made fun of his tattoos or his eyeliner. He didn't care that they stared when he belted out songs with Roxas, because neither on of them could sing worth a dime. He didn't care that Roxas's mood changed every five seconds, or that he was threatened on a daily basis.

He loved every second with his best friend.

So caught up in his thoughts of his life, he barely noticed Roxas's annoyed tone as he chanted.

"Axel. Axel. Axel. Axel. Axel."

He did notice, however, when Roxas's tone changed, along with the words.

"Jackass. Jackass. Jackass. Jackass. Dammit Axel! What are you doing?"

Roxas's only reply was a grin sent his way, followed by a bark of laughter. Face twisting into an unreadable expression-- dubbed by Axel as the 'what the hell is wrong with you' face-- Roxas, turned around, dug around in his book bag for a while, and came out with his iKey. He held it out in Axel's direction.

"So what are we listening to, today Ro-Ack!" Axel was interrupted by an extremely hard mp3 player hitting him directly in the nose. "What the-- who throws an iKey? Seriously?!"

But Axel-s bewildered expression didn't last long, because as soon as Roxas let out a little giggle, they both burst into their own fits of laughter-- Axel's smooth and suave, and Roxas's filled with little snorts and hiccups.

As the laughter died down, Axel decided it was a great time to reitterate his question. "Yeah... so anyway, what're we listening to? Eminem? AFI? Evanescence? Papa Roach?Linkin Park? ... Disney stuff?"

Roxas shook his head at each guess, eyes narrowing at the mention of Disney. He hated it when Axel brought up the fact that he was obsessed with the little animated movies, and half of his iKey was filled with songs from the soundtracks. No one was supposed to know about his obsession. It was their little secret, and he hoped, for Axel's sake, it stayed that way. He drifted back to catch the end of Axel's little one-sided guessing game.

"Fall Out Boy? Utada Hikaru? Hilary Duff?"

Roxas smirked for a second, then let one word out that caused Axel's face to drop.

"RENT."

Of course Axel knew about Roxas's unhealthy obsession with musicals, especially RENT, but he never expected to be forced to listen to the soundtrack. He let his face go blank; he should've known as much. He reached over, grabbed the headphone from the blond, and motioned for him to press play.

What he heard next made his face twist up into a grin. This song was absolutely ridiculous. They were just shouting out random words! It made no sense at all! And they are singing so fast, he could barely catch anything, anyway! He thought he heard something about meatless balls, S&M, and Pee Wee Herman. He fought the urge to ask Roxas what the hell he had him listening to, and instead asked the title.

"La Vie Boheme," Roxas answered, his tone suggesting it should have been common knowledge.

"Rox, in English, please?"

Roxas simply shrugged, and turned to look out the window.

"Woah! I'm home! Already!" He turned and began frantically picking up his things, careful not to forget his iKey or his phone. He turned to Axel and stopped for a second, eyes narrowed.

"Call me. Like, as soon as you get home. No excuses. I know where you live. If you don't call,I will be forced to go over there and manly strut all over your ass. In all seriousness, call me."

Axel smirked. Same old, same old. "Don't I always? Now go, before that driver guy goes crazy or something."

Roxas rolled his eyes, did his little two finger salute, and stumbled off the bus. He rolled his eyes as Namine, his little sister, ran to open the door, as usual. Huh. Not so usual. No pants today.

"Namine, what did I tell you? I have a key for a reason! And where are your _pants_?"

He growled to himself, and hurried inside. When he got in, he realized something important, and groaned audibly. He had forgotten about that Dream this morning. Yes, it's capitol now. He would get it engraved on a plaque, but figured it would be awkward for anyone to read it.

Another groan. The Dream.

And now that it was back in his mind, his conversation with Axel was going to be awkward. Roxas fails at awkward. He can't handle it. Last time he and Axel were in an awkward situation, Roxas accidentally... groped his ass. Accidentally, of course.

... Long story.

So, instead of going to sit by his phone, which he usually would've done, he went up to his room and listened to music. He sat on his bed trying to clear his head. Standing up slowly, he walked over to his nightstand, and began rummaging through his drawers. It was then that he came across the photo album. He hadn't looked at it in about two years, and had completely forgotten it's existence. He opened it and looked at the first picture. It was Axel and him, the summer they first met.

**--ooOOoo--**

_"Hey blondie," Roxas turned around as he was approached by a freakishly tall guy. "What's your name? Or should I just keep calling you blondie? I can tell you love it."_

_Roxas flinched when his eyes finally reached the top of the stranger's body. This guy had two tattoos -- one under each eye -- upside down tear drops, from the look of them. Roxas wondered if it meant anything. His thoughts were halted however, when he saw the hair. That hair! It was deep crimson -- blood red, if you will -- and was styled in spikes that shot out in every direction. Roxas couldn't help himself; he had to ask._

_"Do you put gel in your hair, or is it naturally like that?" He smacked himself internally. This guy just asked for his name, and he responded with a hair question._

_Roxas: suave and sophisticated._

_No._

_The redhead chuckled softly. "This," he performed some odd motions around his hair. "Is all natural. Yes, I know; it's hard to believe. 'This guy wakes up this gorgeous?'" He mimicked Roxas's higher voice as he said this. "Well, you better believe it, I really am just this beautiful. Anyway, the name's Axel, got it memorized?"_

_Roxas mouthed the name. He played around with it in his mouth. Axel. _Axel_. He liked it. He whispered the name to himself. Then, feeling self concious, suddenly looked up into expectant eyes. It was then that he realized this Axel guy was till expecting and answer._

_"I'm- I'm Roxas." He looked at is feet suddenly. Roxas felt extremely awkward; he was no good at meeting new people. After an extended silence, he looked up, expecting to see that the redhead had moved on, only to find Axel standing there, eyes glued to Roxas's feet._

_He cleared his throat, gaining Axel's attention again._

_"Wah, oh! Sorry Rox-ass, I just thought that, you know, since you were staring at your feet so hard, there had to be something interesting going on down there." He smiled then. "So... wanna go hang out?"_

_Roxas couldn't help the extremely shocked look that graced his features at that moment. He was genuinely stunned. He had come here, to the mall, in hops of finding a new CD. Instead, he gets approached by a random redhead who wants to hang out. He looks into Axel's eyes for a split second._

_Big mistake._

_Because in the next moment, Roxas got dizzy, and couldn't help himself from nodding mutely. He had never seen eyes so beautiful. They were green. They weren't jade, or any other ridiculous shade, just pure _green_. He was extremely happy when Axel broke their gazes by jumping up and down in excitement._

_"Yeah! Come on Rox-ass! Let's go blow some money! Ooh! Lets take a picture in that booth! Let's go, buddy!"_

**--ooOOoo--**

Roxas smiled at the memory. He had only gone to the mall to buy a new CD. What are the odds of, instead, getting a random redheaded nutcase begging for his company?

Roxas decided they were one in a million.

Feeling much better, and with the Dream pushed to the farthest corner of his mind, he went and got his phone from where it rested in his jacket pocket, barely audible. Opening the phone, he found exactly what he had hoped for.

One missed call

His smile enlarged as he dialed the number, feeling refreshed, and more excited than he had been in a long while. He was going to talk to his best friend.

**--ooOOoo--**

**A/N: I'm really unhappy right now. This stupid thing just deleted half of my chapter, and I had to write it all over again. Ugh. Can you say annoying?**

**Anyway, yeah. The bus scene, I just put it in because I didn't want to do it later. I wanted to get all the introductory things out of the way now. Figured the bus was the best way to show you their personalities and their relationship. **

**And uh... oh! The iKey? Don't kill me for that. I had iPod written down, but I decided to be a complete loser and make it keyblade related. So, it was going to be iKeyblade, but honestly, that sounds ridiculous. "OH hey guys, I'm just over here listening to my iKeyblade!" No. It's just stupid. So, I got rid of the blade, and iKey was born. Logical, no?**

**And the photo album thing. I figured there was no better way to randomly spur on a flashback. That's my reasoning for that little bit of nonsense.**

**So, this chapter was Axel and Roxas's relationship, as of now, and I probably will give Hayner some attention next chapter. I dunno, I like Axel a whole lot more. Whatever. Either way, there's another chapter coming.**

**Also, this wasn't read over at all. So if there are spelling or grammatical errors, tell me and I'll fix it pronto. **

**Uhm... that's it. REVIEW!**

**Or Lexaeus will eat you. He's a big guy, he must be hungry.**

**...Review? Please? See? I'm nice! You have to review now!**

**And I apologize for this really long piece of crap formerly known as the Author's Note. Oops.**


	4. Confession

**AN: Aaaaaand... I'm back with another completely unplanned, spur of the moment chapter of "Honesty is the Best Policy, Right?" (even though ffnet REFUSES to acknowledge the question mark there). I hope you enjoy it. And I will try my hardest to make this more about Hayner, because I've totally been neglecting him. Sorry Hayner,**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the clothes on my back. ...Well... maybe I own**_**those**_**, but definitely not the rights to KH. kthx**

**-ooOOoo-**

Standing outside waiting for a bus, when you are already tired and want to go home, is never a good thing. Especially when it's the middle of October- which means no one had a jacket because they weren't expecting the cold temperatures. This was the situation Hayner found himself in one day after an excruciating day filled with Chemistry chapter tests and two visits to the dean's office. It's not his fault the stupid freshman from his Spanish class don't know when to shut their mouths. They just kept trying to tick him off, knowing he played on the blitzball, lacrosse, and soccer teams and had short fuse. So, who's to say it was Hayner's fault when he just so happened to punch one freshman in the nose and trip the other down a flight of stairs?

Anyway, Hayner was waiting for the bus. This was a ritualistic thing; twice a month his drunkard of a bus driver would simply forget to show up, and the bus would show up an hour late reeking of tequila and pot. Then of course, the druggie students on his bus would take that as their cue to make the bus smell of more marijuana.

Groaning obnoxiously loud, Hayner decided the best course of action would be to sit on the freezing cement below him, grumble to himself, and then text the _hell_ out of Roxas' phone.

_Roxas. Bored. Funify me._

Hayner smiled to his newly coined word. He thought it was is best yet, and was very proud of it. Funify.

A few moments later he got his response.

**Funify? What the hell? That has to be the worst word youve come up with.**

Always quick with his thumbs, he had the next text sent out in a matter of seconds.

_Fuck off. Hows ur bus ride? Who cares, guess how mine is? Fucking awesome, specially since im not on a fucking bus._

**... What? Oh, dumbass driver didnt show up?**

_No, of course he did. I just decided to let it go on without me so I could better acquaint_my ass with the cold ground. Whaddya think?

**Whatever Hayner. Dont be an ass. Im home and I hafta do hw. Stop texting.**

He growled to himself. It had only been fifteen minutes since school ended, so there was no way Roxas was home already. The short blond just wanted to talk to Axel. Hayner scowled at the name. There wasn't anything much wrong with Axel himself, besides the fact that he kept pushing up on _Hayner's_ best friend. And as such, he couldn't just heed his best friends wishes, no could he?

_Okay. Because you asked me ever so nicely, I will stop texting. But only because I love, you , and you love me. One day, we'll will grow old together and in the nursing home, we will text each other. It will be magical and magnificent because you will be in the hospital bed right next to me. Wait, did I say hospital bed? I thought we were in a nursing home. Anyway, because we are like the bestest of brothers, I will stop texting you now, if only because you so desire it. This is me, not texting you any longer. Okay bye._

Perfect. That should take up at least the number of characters to create three separate texts, which will definitely annoy the shit out of Roxas. Hayner waited a few minutes for Roxas to respond, but after not receiving a quick response, figured it would take the blond a while longer to read it.

It was at that moment the bus finally appeared, and as expected, smelled of alcohol and drugs. _And this is the wonderful private school you've sent me to, mom._Hayner boarded the bus while simultaneously retrieving his iKey from his back pocket, flipping to his favorite Slipknot song. After listening to it twice, he finally got the text from Roxas.

**Ass.**

**-ooOOoo-**

"I don't know why he does that! Every time I say 'stop texting' he has o send me a multi-page text describing why he is stopping, and then narrate himself stopping. It's like Hayner's goal in life is to annoy me, especially when I'm hanging out with you."

Axel shrugged nonchalantly. "Well you told him you were doing homework, so maybe he just likes to annoy you in general. Or maybe he doesn't realize he's annoying you. He could think you appreciate his nonsensical rants as much as you appreciate mine."

"Whatever. Anyway, I was thinking the three of us could go to the mall on Saturday. Hang out in Hot Topic and annoy Zexion a little."

He watched as Axel frowned, and then mirrored the expression. "What? Are you busy or something?"

Axel sighed. "Yeah. My mom's making me start some dam 'college preparatory' class every Saturday," He of course used finger quotes as he said this. "Dammit, i love harassing Zexy..."

Roxas shrugged and went back to listening to music as Axel went back to... whatever he had been doing over there. He would just have to with Hayner, that's all. No big deal, he used to hang out alone with Hayner all the time. Roxas sighed. If it was alright, why did he feel so weird and... guilty?

**-ooOOoo-**

_"I don't wanna fall asleep  
Cause I don't know if I'll get up  
And I don't wanna cause a scene  
But I'm dyin' without your love"_

Roxas shot up from his relaxed position on his bed, falling out of it in the process. Scrambling around his room, searching for his cell, he couldn't help but wonder why he had made this particular song Axel's ringtone.

_"I'm beggin' to hear your voice  
Tell me you love me too  
Cause I'd rather just be alone  
If I know that I can't have you"_

Finally resurfacing from under a pile of formerly-folded clean clothes - who knows why it was there, all of places - Roxas flipped open his phone before he missed the call.

"Hello?" Roxas breathed out, slightly winded from frantically searching for his phone. "Axel?"

Silence on the other end, and then, "R- Roxas?" Roxas could hear the redhead's shaky breathing. It sounded as if he'd been crying, or was about to.

"Axel, are you okay?"

Silence again. Roxas realized Axel must have nodded his head, not realizing he couldn't be seen.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just... Could you meet me, at that coffee place near your house?"

"Axel, it's," He looked over to check the time. "It's three in the morning, Axel." He winced as he heard a muffled sob on the other end, as if the other boy was trying his hardest to keep the tears from falling.

"Rox... please..."

Roxas got up and began pulling on his shoes, "Alright Axel, I'll be right there."

**-ooOOoo-**

Axel waited patiently in the coffee chop, sitting quietly in the booth closest to the door. Apparently, 'right there' for Roxas took about fifteen minutes. Axel had been sitting in that booth for a bout thirty, because he had already been there when he was on the phone with the blond. His behind was becoming seriously numb, and his eyes were just closing on their own when he saw a flash of pale yellow. The boy sat down across from him, looking exhausted, and leaned in close to green eyes. Axel sucked in a breath and turned his head away sharply.

"Axel, _what_is wrong with you?"

Axel felt another tear slide down his cheek slowly, and silently cursed himself for letting it go in front of Roxas.

"Oh my- Oh my God! Axel, what happened?"

He shook his head, smiling softly, "Nothing, yet. Not yet. Roxas..."

"... Yes?" He looked on as Axel motioned for him to come around the booth and sit next to him. He switched seats slowly, wondering what was wrong his friend."Ax-"

He was silenced as warm, lanky arms were wrapped around him, and flinched when he felt something wet on his shoulder.

He pushed Axel back and held him at arm's length, to get a good look at him. "Alright Axel, please tell me what's going on."

He watched as the red head moved back, out of reach, and wiped his eyes. "You're the best friend I've had, and I just wanted one last hug, you know? Before you start hating me." He put up a finger to silence Roxas, who he knew was about to say something like 'I would never' or 'why would I do that'. "He lowered his head into his hands and curled into himself, so the skin on his face was barely visible.

"Rox, please, I... I'm gay."

**-ooOOoo-**

**AN: Another chapter of Honesty. You know, I really thought this story would be the quickest for me to update, but yeah, it's not. And I've figured out the reasons why:**

**1- I'm a lazy, forgetful sack.**

**2- Midterms are ridiculous, and I'm barely passing physics.**

**3- It's hard to turn a completely platonic friendship between two girls into yaoi. And I'm trying to make my 'Axel' sound just a**_**bit**___**more confident but scared, also, of losing someone important to him. You know, to keep him at least a**_**little**___**in character.**

**Ooh, cliffhanger. No, not really. WE all knew Axel was gay, but no one in there knows. And Axel's just a**_**taaad**_**terrified****out of his mind of losing Roxy as a friend. Good stuff. Anyway...**

**Sorry for the wait, and**_**review**_**please, telling me what a lazy loser I am!**


	5. Perfect

**AN: Woah. Two months and no update? I really need to get better with this. I'm not going to lie and say I've already started the next chapter, because I totally haven't, but I do have a basic idea in my head so... on with the disclaimer. And thank you for those who actually reviewed!  
**

**Disclaimer: Is it rape if you yell, "SURPRISE!!!"? I don't know, but I still don't own KH.  
**

**--ooOOoo--**

Roxas has never had a gay friend. In fact, he didn't know many people who had. He's pretty sure Hayner hadn't had one, and that Sora kid he sometimes spoke to didn't have one. And, come to think of it, Roxas didn't think he had ever even _known_ a gay person before...

But he was sure it couldn't be that different from having a nice little female friend. Because, if you really think about it, it _is_ just like having a female friend. Although, that particular female would have to be pretty manly, and a little bit of a tomboy... But whose to say that wasn't normal? Roxas was sure that having a gay friend would be almost _exactly _like being best friends with that buff senior Larxene.

But the question still remained: could Roxas deal with _Axel_ being that gay friend? They had been friends for so long, and this was a huge secret to be held for so long. And to withhold that secret from Roxas? They were supposed to be best friends; they were supposed to tell each other everything. Take Roxas, for example. He never kept any secrets from Axel. Nothing at all. He told him all about his parents divorce, the people who bullied him in the 7th grade, and all of his hopes and dreams.

... Dreams.

That was the one secret he kept from Axel. But how could he tell him that? That dream made all the difference for the blond. Should he accept Axel as he is, or should he let him go. According to that dream...

Roxas glanced up to see Axel, still huddled in the corner of the booth, with his head buried in his hands. Roxas had never seen the red head look so vulnerable. Axel was trembling viciously, and Roxas could tell the boy was trying his hardest to keep his sobbing silent.

He reached over hesitantly and placed his hand gently on the boys shaking shoulder. When Axel flinched and began to look up, Roxas put on the most sincere and honest smile that had ever graced his features. As Axel's face visibly brightened, he leaned in to hug the blond, and incredulous spurts of laughter erupted from his tattooed face.

"Rox... oh my God, I can't ev--"

He was silenced with a kiss.

**--ooOOoo--**

"So, why did it take you so long to tell me this? I mean, I thought we told each other... everything?"

Axel looked down at their joined hands and kept walking. " I didn't think you would accept me." He stated, looking downcast. "You always hear about these people who come out to their friends and are rejected," he snapped, "just like that. I didn't want that to happen to me; I didn't want to lose you."

Roxas mulled that over for a minute as he looked at his surroundings, they were only about five minutes from his house now. "So, if that's what you were afraid of, why tell me now? I mean, I know it must have been hard to keep such a huge secret bottled up, but I'm pretty sure a fear like that just doesn't disappear overnight." He looked up at the red head who was suddenly very quiet. "What happened, Axel?"

All was silent for a few more minutes, and they both stopped in their tracks. It was if time itself had completely halted, until finally Axel spoke again.

"My dad kicked me out, Rox."

"_What_?"

"I told him today; said I didn't like keeping secrets from him. Wanna know what he did? He hit me, Rox, with anything in arm's reach. Over and over and over and over and over." He took a deep breath. "Here," he lifted his shirt to show the blond the purple bruises lining his abdomen, then turned around, to show his back. "... and here, when I tried to turn and run. Said he didn't want some fucking queer living in his house. Called me a faggot and told me to get out. He said-" Another shaky sigh, " He said he didn't want to see my disgusting face again, that I was worthless. He said he wanted me to drop dead."

"Axel..." the blond turned and wrapped his arms tightly around the taller male. "You're not disgusting and you're not worthless. You're perfect, okay? Look at me. _Look_ at me, Axel. It's not your fault he's an asshole, alright? He can go fucking burn in hell. You are _perfect_." He pressed his lips to the red head's. "And I wouldn't change you for anything. Come on, you can stay with me."

**--ooOOoo--**

The next morning, Roxas' mother didn't seem to have a problem with the uninvited red head at the breakfast table, but seemed to realize something was wrong. Call it that motherly nonsense they all have going on. But she definitely gave Axel more chocolate chips on his pancakes than Roxas had ever gotten.

**-ooOOoo--**

The usual bus formation had also changed. Instead of the two friends sitting across from each other and exchanging their usual happy banter, they sat next to each other with Roxas' head leaning on Axel's shoulder as they spoke in hushed tones.

"Hey Roxy?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you doing this for me? You don't have to, you know." He kept gazing off into space. "I mean, just because I'm, you know, how I am. I don't want you to do this just because I came to you crying, got it memorized? I don't want you to do this just because you, you know, feel bad for me or anything, that's all."

Roxas flipped over Axel and straddled him, looking him straight in the eye. "Axel, do you really think I would do all this," he ground his hips into the other boy's, making him bite his bottom lip to restrain a whimper. "out of pity? You're my best friend and all, Ax, but there isn't that much pity in the world. How could you think I would do that to you? It's like you don't know me at all, Ax. This is what I want, and I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't, okay?" He kissed him lightly. "Okay?"

Axel nodded, "Okay." He leaned his head up to capture the blond's pouty lips once more. "Okay."

**--ooOOoo--**

**AN: Yet another chapter of Honesty. And hey, guess what? I actually have no good reason for this taking two months. I just kept you know "What is the meaning of life"-ing and I couldn't freaking decided how Roxas would react. Yeah, so then I said "Hey, screw planning." And this is where it went. Yup.**

**And yes, it _is _completely possible to straddle someone on a bus seat, and no, no one on the bus noticed it because they are the 'retarded-bus-people-who-don't-notice-anything'. Makes perfect sense.  
**

**On the bright side, I'm not completely failing physics anymore! And I have decided (well, a while ago) that I want to be a psychiatrist. So if anyone, you know, wants to tell me anything about it, or anything about college psychology or anything like that, I will love you, and you might even get a cookie. Yeah...**

**Anyway, how did you like this one? Reviews will be greatly appreciated, and I might even build a shrine to you! (A little creeper-ish, but effective!)  
**

**Sorry for the wait, and _please review!_  
**


	6. A Pony

**A/N: Okay, it's definitely been what, 2 - 3 months? Yeah, I have absolutely no excuse for the first 2 months, but this past month I've been studying and taking finals, trying to turn in all my homework that I always neglect to turn in on time, turning in the last 5 physics lab reports, which were supposed to be turned in in like, April, March... As you can see, I don't only procrastinate with my fanfictions, it actually just happens to be how I live my life... Yeah, that makes me sound horrible xDD I actually had to go back and reread what I wrote...  
**

**But, alas! To make up for the way-too-long wait, I'm updating with two chapters at once! I know, right! It's completely unheard of! Uh, I'm pretty sure that's all I had to say!**

**On the bright side, this new song by the Jonas Brothers, 'Poison Ivy', is horrendous. I'm surprised my ears aren't bleeding right now as it's blasting on the TV behind me. Anyway, time to dis-claim things!**

**Disclaimer: I own nada. Nothing. Zilch. Well, I'm fairly certain 'zilch' means nothing... anyywaay.  
**

* * *

At first Axel found it extremely unnerving to have to share a bed with Roxas. But it had been almost two months since he left his father's house and started staying with his boyfriend. He now found sharing the same bed as Roxas each night had become his favorite part of his days.

Besides, it wasn't like they _did _anything; they would lay there, sometimes in each others arms, sometimes not, talking or just looking at each other. In fact, that happened to be what they were doing at that particular moment. Axel just laid there, staring at the blue orbs before him, listening to the faint music Roxas played each night. It was odd how they could just stare at each other and _not _have it be awkward. Axel supposed it must be difficult to make something awkward if you do it often enough, and they happened to stare at each other a lot. Since they got 'together' that is.

Roxas had been a little timid of course, after that bus ride especially. He would always seem like he wasn't sure of exactly what he should do, but Axel wasn't either. Sometimes Roxas would reach out to hold his hand, the hesitate at the last second and snatch it back. He would begin leaning in for a kiss, then blush and pull away, turning away to stare at his feet. He once asked Axel if he was annoying him with his uncertainty, but of course Axel told him he wasn't. And it was the truth; Axel often found Roxas cutest when he was unsure of what to do next, especially since it had in fact been the blond himself who had started the whole relationship.

After that, whenever Axel would catch Roxas snatching his hand away, he would reach out and grab it gently. Whenever Roxas would pull away, he would tilt the blond's chin gently with his forefinger and kiss him softly. Of course, they never did any of that in school; who knew how their peers would react? Homosexuality isn't very popular in their high school....

Axel resurfaced from his reveries when he felt a pair of lips press against his own. He looked up, from his relaxed position on the bed, at the blond who had somehow managed to raise himself above Axel without the red head noticing.

He rose his eyebrow in slight confusion. "That was for...?" He left the question floating there for Roxas to grasp.

Instead of the answer Axel was expecting, the blond just chuckled and kissed him again. Then he rolled back off of Axel, snuggled into his side, and went to sleep, leaving poor Axel alone in his confusion.

* * *

Roxas found it funny how the heart worked. At first, when he had kissed Axel, he really didn't know what he was doing, and figured he was only doing it to help his best friend. But then on the bus, when he was telling Axel all those things... He believed them himself. Roxas didn't know what to do with those feelings, however, so he became very shy and awkward around the red head.

He hated himself for that.

But as time went by, Roxas realized that there was nothing to think about. Axel was his best friend, and he liked him. He liked his best friend, and that's all there was to it.

He looked over to Axel in the bed next to him, staring at him blankly, like he wasn't really seeing him. On impulse, Roxas swung himself over the red head and kissed him. Axel raised his eyebrow at him... God how he adored that eyebrow.

"That was for...?"

Roxas couldn't answer, because he didn't have one. He just chuckled; that was the first time Roxas had ever kissed anyone in a bed, and it seemed so _dangerous_. He leaned down and kissed Axel again, then rolled over and pretended to be asleep... He didn't know how much danger he could take in just one night.

* * *

"Axel, don't forget, leave after me, okay? If Hayner knows you're living here, he _will _ask questions, and I am a horrible liar." He smiled at Axel's affirmative nod and they began their walk to Hayner's house.

"What are we going there for again?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. Couldn't they just get along? "We're just going to hang out, Ax. It's not that big of a deal."

Axel, in turn, rolled his eyes, and slipped his hand it to blond's. "Whatever. Are you sure you can keep your hands off of me? I am looking pretty hot today, I dunno if you can resist."

He leaned down to kiss his boyfriend but Roxas pushed him off. "Look's like you're the one we need to worry about here." He laughed and kissed the red head who had resorted to pouting.

"You're such a baby, Axel,"

* * *

Hayner was pissed off, even more so than usual. The entire time Roxas and Axel had been at his house, they had ignored him almost completely. Hayner would say something to Roxas, Axel would jump in a distract him.

Every. God. Damn. Time.

"Roxas, guess what I goooot!"

"A pony?" At the 'don't be an ass' look Hayner shot him, Roxas said, "Uh... I mean, what?"

But once again, before Hayner could get a word in, Axel beat him to it.

"Oh! Roxas, I once had a pony! I mean, it wasn't real but I was seven so it was okay at the time..."

Hayner was disgusted in how enthralled Roxas seemed to be by the horrible story.

"...So then when I was 9 I burned it because i realized it was slightly retarded. It was a mercy killing, of course." Axel finished.

Roxas laughed. "But of course."

It went on the same way for about two more hours, and Hayner grew angrier by the minute. He had resorted to silently fuming, because he couldn't hit his best friend, and if he hit Axel, Roxas would be pissed.

Hayner couldn't help buy notice how ridiculously close to the blond Axel was. He was practically on top of him! And the way he would just stare at him... the fuming blond knew something was off.

When Axel quickly brushed a hair out of Roxas' face, Hayner decided enough was enough. He would not stand for this at all. He shot up out of his seat and jumped on Roxas, making Axel move over so there was room for him on the couch.

Hayner was very uncomfortably squished between the two of them, but he didn't care. He had gotten Axel away from his best friend. He turned to said friend. "Anyway Roxas, I never did tell you what I got!" And in the corner of his eye, Hayner could practically hear the steam erupting from Axel's ears.

* * *

**A/N: I don't even know if this qualifies as a 'filler' chapter. Probably not, because it's actually vaguely important, but I hate it as if it were a filler.**

**Anyway, that is that. Haha, no one loves poor Hayner. It's okay Hayner, I'm sure someone out there loves you... it's just not... me. Yeah, not me. xD**

**I was listening to "Mad World" on repeat while I wrote this. The Adam Lambert version, because Adam Lambert = hot sex. And yes, I know he didn't win American Idol, and Idol ended forever ago anyway, but I still adore my little gay boy xDD**

**Anyway, this is the first of two chapters I'm putting up now! (I was about to say "and they go together" but then I realized, it's all one story. How would they _not _go together...)**

**Okay! _Review _please, and I will love you forever! Flames are welcome too!**


	7. Disliking Rainbows

**A/N: ****I just realized I never gave any of them last names, so they are as follows:**

**Axel Nomura**

**Roxas Taylor (haha, it's so 'normal')  
**

**Hayner Giovaniello (because I know an Italian guy with that last name, and Hayner seems Italian to me... yeah)**

**Okay! On to the disclaimer!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts... dammit.**

**Oh, I don't own any My Chemical Romance songs either.  
**

* * *

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the friendly neighborhood squirrels were scurrying through yards, and yet, it was not the perfect Saturday it appeared to be. It was imperfect because Hayner had just discovered horrible news: Axel Nomura was a fag.

Yeah, the badass, nonchalant, crazy red head, Axel Nomura, was gay.

Now, some people might just blow off this little piece of information like it was nothing at all, because, really, it wouldn't seem like anything at all to anyone else but Hayner. The quick-tempered blond was going to use this to his advantage...

* * *

_"Bye Axel!"_

_"See you later Rox," said the red head as he watched said blond disappear through the door. _

_Hayner watched as Axel's eyes lingered just a little too long on the blond's retreating figure. _

_"So... awkward... uh, Hayner, I'm gonna, you know, leave... then I'll uh... not... be here."_

_Hayner scoffed, "Don't give me that bullshit you fag," He felt a sense of accomplishment as he saw a flicker of surprise in Axel's eyes. "Why the hell were you staring at Roxas's ass for so long?! Huh? Fag!" _

_Axel jumped from the couch with fear, poorly disguised as anger, in his eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?! I -I wasn't even - what the hell are you talking about?"_

_Hayner just smirked at the red head who was very obviously displaying the word 'BUSTED' across his forehead. "Uh-huh. Well you can just leave now... who knows what a fag like you would do to a guy like me." He motioned for Axel to get up to leave. "I won't stare at your ass either... a courtesy Roxas obviously didn't get from _you_. Oh, and don't worry; by Monday, everyone will know, so you won't have to worry about keeping your little secret any longer."_

_He smiled viciously at the horrified look that crossed the other boy's face as Axel turned around and left.  
_

_

* * *

_Roxas grinned as he watched his little sister Namine trip his brother, Sora. For twins, they sure hated each other. Roxas was about to say something as Sora began pulling Namine's hair, but forgot about everything when he heard a pounding on the door, and instead ran to open it.

"Hey Ax!" He made sure the twins weren't watching before leaning up to kiss Axel on the lips.

"Uh, Roxas... I think I may have a problem... After you left Hay-"

They both gave a start as Roxas' phone started blasting "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance - it was Hayner's favorite song. "Wait a sec Axel, Hayner's calling." He answered with a terse, "Whaaaat?"

"Rox! Man have I got something to tell you! You're not gonna believe this!"

Roxas sighed. "I'll call you back in a couple minutes, I'm talking to Axel," He heard Hayner start to yell something but ended the call to quickly to comprehend any of it. "Axel? What were you saying?"

Axel sighed before speaking. "Hayner knows I'm gay Rox. I don't know how he figured it out - well, I kinda do, but that's not the point," Axel was rambling now, almost too quickly to comprehend. "He just figured it out, probably because I was staring at your ass as you left," Roxas let out a loud "What?!" but Axel continued on, ignoring the interruption completely. "And he just turned on me and was like 'fag! blah blah blah!' and I was like 'no what're you talking about?' but I'm pretty sure my lie was no good because he told me to leave and was all 'I won't stare at your ass, I'm telling everyone at school' and then he left and I don't even know Roxy! I'm totally not even making sense but what do I do?! Oh my God Roxas I'm going to be made fun of and everyone is gonna pelt me with pencils and rainbows! I don't even _like _rainbows!"

Roxas was surprised Axel had gotten all of that out so fast, and was fairly certain the red head hadn't taken a single breath during the entirety of the little spiel. "Uh... I missed most of that..." He blushed and scratched the back of his head awkwardly as Axel rolled his eyes. "Sorry! You were just like blah blah, rainbows!"

And as Axel began his rant again, Roxas completely forgot about returning Hayner's phone call.

* * *

"... I do _not _like rainbows!" Axel huffed out.

"... Oh... see? Now I see the severity of the situation, because I could actually hear what you were saying. So, do you think it's possible we could just try to make him think he was imagining things, or making the whole thing up. You could say 'Oh, Roxas had toilet paper on his shoe, that's what I was staring at'... You know, something to halt his attempts at ruining the rest of your high school career,"

Axel paced back and forth in Roxas' bedroom, where they had relocated during Axel's second speech. He couldn't decided which side of the room to stand on, or if he even wanted to be standing. He was just pacing, sitting, standing again, pacing, and it was all making Roxas rather dizzy. As Axel paced past Roxas again, who was sitting on the bed, he pulled the red head down next to him.

"Axel, calm down. I know we'll figure out something. And we might not even have to, maybe Hayner will just forget about the whole thing." He sighed at the incredulous look his boyfriend shot him. "Well you never know!" He sighed again. "Let's just go to sleep, it's almost one in the morning. We can think about this in the morning, okay?"

Axel took off his shirt and laid down on the bed, bringing the blond down next to him, a sign that Roxas took as a 'yes'. Roxas curled into his boyfriends toned side and closed his eyes. As he took in his scent, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen to the both of them.

He pretended to be asleep as Axel kissed his forehead.

"I'm scared, Rox," The lips were on his head yet again. "So scared... What's going to happen to us?"

* * *

Hayner sat on the edge of his bed, pissed beyond recognition. It had been two hours since Roxas said he would call him back. He had been blown off, once again, for some _fag_.

He threw his phone on the floor angrily, finally giving up on his blond 'friend', then flopped back on his bed. Stupid Nomura...

Hayner was one step closer to not only getting his best friend back, but exposing the freak for what he was. As he lay down on this bed, seconds away from sleep, he couldn't help but mumble, almost incoherently.

"Stupid cocksucker... gonna wish you never fucked with my best friend... you'll be dead come Monday..."

* * *

**A/N: And that's that! The second chapter of my double update! (-cheers for self-)  
**

**Uh... I honestly couldn't think of anything more sinister for anyone to say as they were falling asleep... It seems kind of odd to be telling, in detail, how he was going to ruin someone's life or something... Yeah, I don't really know what I'm talking about right now.**

**_Review _please! Tell me what you think!**


	8. Bruises

**A/N: Wow. How long has it been since I've updated? 7 months, give or take a few days? Why do I suck so much?! No, in all honesty, I don't have legit valid excuses per say, but I can tell you some things.**

**1. I had no idea where I was going with this. I lost my train of though, but I finally found the damn track.**

**2. My home life is sucking miserably right now. My mom's going crazy, my stepdad's losing his mind, and I'm pretty sure I've gone insane with all the stress and nonsense.**

**3. Junior year. They weren't lying when they said it was horrendous. Math is actually difficult right now, A.P. Biology is consuming every second of my time, and I'm ridiculously stressed out.**

**Also, don't think it's only you guys I've been neglecting. I haven't been writing at all. I think I've written 1 of the required essays in English. The other 4 or 5 I just haven't had time to do. I generally suck and I have no time management skills. -sigh-**

**Anyway, I'm pretty sure you guys have waited long enough. So on to the disclaimer!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, I'd have enough money to pay my way through school.**

* * *

Monday afternoon, Roxas took out his phone for what seemed like the millionth time since he boarded the bus. Axel wasn't here yet and the driver was threatening to leave in a minute. Just as the graying man in the front seat closed the doors and put the vehicle in drive, Roxas jumped in surprise as something banged against his window.

"Stop! Axel's here! Stop, don't drive!" The driver let out a disgruntled sigh and opened the doors once again. Roxas blanched as he saw Axel climb onto the bus.

The redhead's face was bruised terribly, his nose was bleeding, and he was walking with a terrible limp. His shirt was ripped and his left arm clutched his torso. He gingerly sat down next to Roxas.

"Hey, Rox," Axel said, trying to sound nonchalant, but the cringe as he lifted his lifted his head to speak ruined the effect.

"Axel, what happened to you? Who did this?!"

Axel shook his head. "It's worse than it looks. Really, it's not that bad. I'm fine."

Roxas opened his mouth to argue but closed it again when Axel glared at him. "Fine, I won't ask about it anymore."

* * *

Luckily, Roxas's mother wasn't home when they returned; she was out taking his siblings… somewhere, he didn't care where at the moment.

Axel agreed to let Roxas help clean him up in the bathroom and Axel had lied. It was as bad as it looked – maybe worse.

A black eye had developed since he arrived on the bus. There were bruises covering his stomach, and his ankle was twisted pretty badly. Blood was steadily dripping from above his right eyebrow and tons of scratches littered his face and arms.

"Will you please tell me who did this to you?"

Axel looked away and didn't answer. The blond hadn't really expected an answer since Axel hadn't responded to a single question he'd asked. He wasn't sure if it was the pride talking or Axel just being stupid, but he really wanted some answers. He _needed_ answers.

Roxas sighed and returned his focus to the task at hand: cleaning up the blood and bandaging the worst of the cuts. Axel flinched each time he bought the damp cloth to his face and Roxas cringed each time, hating that his boyfriend was in so much pain.

"Okay, Axel. I'm done."

"Finally," Axel got up and looked at his reflection in the mirror, grimacing at what he saw. "I'm going for a walk. I'll see you later." Axel walked out of the bathroom and started down the stairs.

"Wait!" Roxas ran after him and caught up to him right in front of the door which was already partially opened. "You should really lie down, Axel," He pulled the redheads arm back to the direction of the stairs, accidentally grabbing a bruise. "Please?"

The redhead hissed in a gust of air. "Didn't you hear me? I said I'll see you later." Axel snapped and pushed the blond to the floor. He slammed the door behind him as he left.

* * *

Roxas woke up at 4:30 in the morning to someone beside him climbing into bed. He sat up and, for a moment, wanted to smile at Axel's return but opted instead to turn his back to the redhead and sleep. He figured if he could just forget and fall asleep, things would get better in the morning. He couldn't stand it when he felt an arm creeping over his waist, and when a pair of lips kissed his temple, he gave up trying to ignore the situation. He sat up again.

"Get out of my bed, Axel."

Roxas couldn't see the redhead's expression but he had a pretty good idea of what it looked like. He didn't care at the moment. He just wanted Axel away from him. Sure, the fall hadn't hurt much, and the push hadn't been all too hard. He didn't care. He heard Axel mumble something softly and almost asked what it was, but he didn't care enough to know at that point. Roxas noticed that Axel had made absolutely no effort to move.

"Get out Axel!" He whispered harshly "Just go, _now_."

He heard the bed squeak as Axel rose and heard him leave the room. Roxas lay back down and curled into the pillow the redhead and just been lying on. He inhaled the scent and let a single tear fall before falling asleep.

* * *

**A/N: I know, nothing really happened in this chapter. Sorry I made you guys wait so long for just that. I'm really just trying to get back into writing this (also, I think my writing style changed a tad, and it's bugging me). I'll try to make the next one better. I'm not going to promise it will be out soon, but it definitely _won't_ be another 7 months.**

**Review please, tell me was a dorkwad I am.**


	9. Waiting

**This took over a year. Thirteen months. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I apologize. Ugh, I've made you wait this long, I'm not going to take up any more of your time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but a fluffy KH blanket and an overwhelming need to procrastinate.**

**

* * *

**

Axel was miserable. He hadn't mean to snap at Roxas, or push him, or do anything harmful to the blond. He had wanted to tell the blond that Hayner and Seifer had actually come together to kick his ass. He wanted to tell him so bad, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. Yes, maybe he had come crying to Roxas when he came out, but he was much too proud to admit that he had been pummeled by people who were about half his height. He also didn't want anything to happen to Roxas. He knew that the blond would get angry and confront Hayner without properly thinking it through, and he couldn't bear the thought of Roxas getting hurt because of him.

Axel knew the attacks wouldn't stop there, but he knew that he could not tell Roxas about it.

Tuesday morning was awkward. Roxas and Axel passed each other in the hallway, sat at the table, and ate breakfast in silence. When the bus arrived, they boarded and sat on opposite seats like they did at the beginning of the year.

"Roxas, I'm sorry."

Roxas turned to the redhead, opened his mouth to speak, and then decided against it.

"I know I messed up, okay? I didn't mean to yell, and I hate myself for pushing you. I never wanted to hurt you."

Roxas nodded, and Axel took this as a sign to continue.

"Look, Roxas. Do you want to... not do this anymore? We can... We can go back to just being friends, if you want. I wouldn't be mad," he reached out to grab the blond's hand but let his hand fell short. "I can just sleep on the couch downstairs... I could... I could..." Axel trailed of, not knowing what else to say. He looked to the blond, waiting for some sort of response. When he got none, he turned away and the remainder of the ride was silent.

When Axel walked on the bus that afternoon, there were more bruises. Roxas didn't ask about them.

* * *

For the next two weeks, the beatings continued. Axel was looking horrid; bruises upon bruises, scabs and fresh cuts, and the black eyes that never seemed to go away. Axel and Roxas still hadn't spoken, and people stopped asking about the wounds after the first week.

- tiiiiiiiiiime juuuuuuump -

It was Friday, and the last bell had just rung. Roxas scanned the hall for Axel as he usually did, and saw him at the locker. He didn't speak to him -they hadn't spoken in over a month- he just walked to the bus as usual. Axel's beatings had lessened recently, so the blond didn't worry as much as he used to. However, when the bus pulled off without the redhead on board, Roxas' stomach churned, and he knew something bad had happened.

"Fucking faggot!" Hayner swung the bat down again; an ear piercing crack was heard.

Axel screamed out in pain as the metal bat was brought down on him again and again. He writhed in pain, desperately wanting to get up and run but not having the strength to do so.

Before this day, he had promised himself he would never scream or cry. He hated that his vision was blurred with his own salty tears, mixing with blood. He hated that he gave them the satisfaction of hearing him yell and scream in agony. Mostly, he hated himself for falling into yet another of their traps, and for not being able to defend himself. He felt –

"Worthless piece," another kick, "of shit!"

_They're right_.

"Fucking cock sucker," the bat came down again.

_I am worthless_

A stomp to his rib cage.

Axel choked on air and flipped on his side as he vomited blood. He had never felt so broken before in his life. His vision was blurred from not only the tears and blood, but from the swelling. He couldn't tell which way was up, and the voices sounded like they were coming from every direction. He couldn't even tell where he was being hit anymore, because the pain radiated throughout his whole being.

"Hayner, come on" Seifer pulled at the seething blond. "Dude, we're gonna get caught. He's bleeding too much. This isn't good." He yanked the blond's arm again. "Let's go."

Hayner swiftly kicked out again, and then spit on the redhead. The last thing Axel saw was his two assailants walking away.

And then all faded to black.

* * *

Roxas sat on his bed, rocking back and forth with anticipation, staring at the phone in his lap. He'd tried Axel's cell sixteen times in the past few hours, and he couldn't contain his worry anymore. His room grew dark as the sun set but he didn't realize. He just sat there, waiting.

"Roxas, hun," his mom said as she walked into his room. "Get up, we need to go."

He glanced up at his mom blankly before looking back at the phone in his hand. "Axel didn't come home today Mom."

She exhaled slowly and wrung her hands together nervously. "I know, Roxas. He's in the hospital."

* * *

**THERE WAS ABSOULUTELY NO EXCUSE FOR ME MAKING YOU WAIT OVER A YEAR I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT CAME OVER ME.**

**But I read over all the reviews you guys sent and I just got so inspired to write, and I totally remember where this story is going now and I cross my heart and hope to die, PROMISE ON MY OWN LIFE that updates will come quicker now.**

**_Review_, because seriously, they keep me going.**


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